6 thoughts following the Chicago Bears 27-17 loss to Tampa Bay Bucs

2. Offensive coordinator Luke Getsy has been disastrous at his job

After a strong opening drive getting DJ Moore two catches, both 33 and 31 yards, which ended with Justin Fields’ touchdown run, Luke Getsy and the Bears got off to a great start.
Unfortunately, the offense sputtered the rest of the way as Fields struggled to hit open receivers, the interior offensive line could not contain their defensive tackle, Vita Vea, and receivers ran the same routes in the same area on more than one occasion.

While Fields’ performance deserves criticism, we can also criticize Luke Getsy for not only hurting his development but also hindering Fields by not utilizing his strength.

After the Green Bay game where he was heavily criticized for calling screen passes that went nowhere, he sounded defensive and bristled during his weekly press conference, and even stated people would pat him on the back had it worked out.

Even more disturbing was his admission that the decision to sit out players like Equanimeous St. Brown, who is the best blocker on the team, but was made inactive against Green Bay this past week, was made by both Ryan Poles and Matt Eberflus. Does an offensive coordinator like him have no input in the weekly roster decision? Is there a trust issue between the coaching staff?

Then late in the fourth quarter, with the Bears deep in their own territory, and still having a chance to win the ball game, Getsy inexplicably called three consecutive screenplays.

https://twitter.com/T3Jab/status/1703793533763678685

The first attempt resulted in an offside penalty by Tampa Bay. The second attempt resulted in a first-down by running back Khalil Herbert, but it was negated because of OPI by Chase Claypool.

The Bears’ third and final attempt was recognized by linebacker Shaq Barrett as he sat back in coverage, intercepted the ball, and was pushed into the endzone by his teammates for a game-clinching touchdown.

As you can expect, many are eviscerating his decision to heavily rely on screen passes. Tampa Bay seems to have noticed his tendencies too.

You can bet the reporters will be asking about consecutive screen passes that ended the comeback hopes and how he felt about Tampa Bay mocking his predictable play-calling postgame. Will he blow up this time?

And then, the bombshell news conference yesterday when Justin Fields met with reporters and explained that coaching has contributed him to playing “robotic” against the Buccaneers and that he’s going to be more himself moving forward, which he later took the initiative to clarify when it was perceived as taking shots at the coaching staff, particularly Getsy.

Getsy’s ego has been bruised by Fields and the opposition. They both know whatever he’s trying to accomplish is not working. With Williams out of the picture, Getsy is the top scapegoat candidate for Eberflus. As Fields takes control of his career, the leash on Getsy has gotten shorter now.